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Daesh claims deadly Jordan attack that killed Canadian

During a raid on a suspected hideout for wanted men, four Jordanian police were reportedly killed in a clash with gunmen on Tuesday.

Jordanian security forces are seen patroling on Monday in Karak, a tourist destination, around 120 kilometres south of the capital Amman, following an attack a day earlier. Daesh has claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting that killed 10 people, including a Canadian tourist. Another 34 people were wounded in Sunday's shooting spree, including a second Canadian. (KHALIL MAZRAAWI / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

By Omar AkourAssociated Press

Tues., Dec. 20, 2016

AMMAN, JORDAN—Four policemen were killed Tuesday in an exchange of fire with wanted men in a central Jordanian province where assailants had killed 10 people in a series of ambushes earlier this week, state media said.

Several wanted men were killed and others arrested after the firefight in the province of Karak, the official news agency Petra reported. The report did not say how many of the alleged fugitives had been killed.

State media said police officers came under fire during a raid of a suspected hideout of fugitives. Petra said the cell targeted Tuesday was not connected to those involved in Sunday’s attacks in Karak.

Earlier Tuesday, Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s shootings which killed nine Jordanians and a tourist from Canada.

Sunday’s shootings were the bloodiest in Jordan in recent memory and raised new concerns about the rise of Islamic militancy in the pro-Western kingdom.

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Jordan plays a key role in the U.S.-led military campaign against Daesh, which seized large areas in neighbouring Iraq and Syria in 2014 and proclaimed a “caliphate” there.

The back-to-back violent clashes between security forces and armed men this week undermine the kingdom’s claim to be an oasis of stability in a region increasingly threatened by Islamic extremists.

Sunday’s shootings took place in the town of Qatraneh in Karak province and in the provincial capital of Karak city.

Deadly siege in Jordan ends as security forces free tourists trapped inside a medieval castle, amid reports a Canadian woman, two other civilians and four police officers were killed during exchange of gunfire. (Reuters)

Hours after an initial attack on a police patrol in Qatraneh, four gunmen were killed by Jordanian security forces during a standoff at Karak Castle, a Crusader fortress and popular tourist destination.

The Daesh claim of responsibility was published Tuesday on “Shumoukh al-Islam,” a password-protected website affiliated with the extremist group.

The statement said that “four soldiers of the caliphate” armed with machine-guns and hand grenades carried out the attacks, killing 10 “apostates.” It said the four IS fighters were engaged in “fierce clashes lasting several hours” with Jordanian forces before being killed.

The statement threatened more attacks in anti-Daesh coalition member states. “We promise the Crusader coalition countries something worse and more severe, Allah permitting ...,” it said.

Jordanian officials have refused to identify the attackers.

Seven members of the Jordanian security forces, two local bystanders and the Canadian tourist were killed in the attacks which also left 34 people wounded.

Linda Vatcher, a 62-year-old from Newfoundland, was killed in the attack. She had recently travelled to the Middle East to spend Christmas with her son, Chris, who was reportedly working as a teacher in the region.

The mother and son were visiting a Crusader castle popular with tourists in Karak when gunmen assaulted Jordanian police in a series of attacks. Christopher Vatcher was said to have jaw injuries, and was being treated at a hospital in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

Jordan has been facing homegrown extremism; hundreds of Jordanians are fighting alongside other Daesh militants in Iraq and Syria and several thousand more are believed to support the extremist group in the kingdom.

Earlier this year, Daesh claimed responsibility for a deadly cross-border attack from Syria on a Jordanian border post.

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